Folding chair



y 1959 M. l. THOMAS 2,887,150

FOLDING CHAIR 1W 'Filed wig. 7, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Wm M INVENTOR MORTON I. THOMAS ATTORNEYS May 19, 1959 M. l. THOMAS 2,887,150

FOLDING CHAIR Filed Aug. 7, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. MORTON I. THOMAS ATTORNEYS United States Patent FOLDING CHAIR Application August 7, 1956, Serial No. 602,538

4 Claims. (Cl. 155-139) My invention relates to new and improved folding or collapsible furniture, such as chairs which have back cushions and seat cushions.

The frame or chassis of the chair may be largely of conventional construction. However, I provide an improved construction, whereby back and seat cushions of substantial depth may be-assembled conveniently with the collapsed frame, for easy storage and transportation. I can also provide a legrest, which has a leg cushion, which can also be conveniently assembled with the collapsed frame. By means of this invention, the cushions can be thick and may optionally have inner coil springs, and said cushions can be easily assembled with the folded chair to be stored and shipped as a compact unit. As above noted, the invention may be embodied in chairs whose main parts are of any folding construction, and one type of folding construction is shown herein, in order to i1- lustrate one complete embodiment, and without limitation thereto.

Other objects of the present invention are set forth in the following description:

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front perspective view showing the frame of a folding chair in its normal or set-up or extended condition of use, with the cushions omitted for convenience of illustration. 6 1

I Fig. 2 is a partial perspective'view, somewhat enlarged, showing the certain links of the frame of the chair of Fig. 1. A side-bar of the rear-leg frame is shown in broken lines; a t

. Fig. 3 is 'a rear elevational view of Fig. showing the set-up or extended chair;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the chair of Fig. 1, with the cushions in place on. the frame of the chair, and showing in dot-and-dash outline, the respective positions of adjustment of the back-frame;

f Fig. 5 is a side elevational view showing the chair of. Fig. 4.in an intermediate stage of its collapsing movement; and

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view, showing the chair of Fig. 4]in. its fully collapsed condition.

A'sa bove. noted, many of the parts are conventional.

[A rigid conventional, U-shaped, outer back-frame 13 has a top lateral bar 45 and side-bars 46.

-A "rigid, inner, .U-shaped, back-frame 48 has side bars 50 and a bottom lateral bar 49. This inner back-frame 48 is. a novel and important feature of my invention.

It is not limited to' a U-shaped framej These side-bars 50. 'oftheinne'r back-frame 48 are. located between the side bars 46 of th'e outer back-frame 13. Each side bar SllQC'ifthe innerback-frame 48 is turnably connected by a"pivot51 to the respective adjacent side-bar 46 of outer back-frame 13. 'The axes of pivots 51 arehorizontally alined.

ffAfcdnventional seat-frame 12 has apair of longitudinal andparalleliside bars 27. A conventional rear, rigid lateral and horizontal pivot-rod 29 extends through the i 2,887,150 Patented May 19, .1959.

side bars 46 of the outer back-frame 13 and also through the longitudinal side bars 27 of seat-frame 12. This pivot-rod 29 has conventional extensions 30 which extend laterally beyond the conventional side-bars 24-23 of a conventional rigid, U-shaped, rear-leg frame 11, which has a conventional lateral ground-engaging bar 22. Conventional links 67 are also provided. One end of each link 67 is turnable on a respective extension 30. The other end of each link 67 is pivoted in the usual manner at 68 to a respective side-bar 24-23 of rearleg frame 11.

The longitudinal side-bars 27 of seat 12 are optionally located laterally inwardly of the side-bars 46 of the outer back-frame 13.

Two links 55 are provided. These links are an important part of my invention. Each link 55 is pivoted at 56 to a respective side-bar 50 of inner back-frame 48. Each link 55 is pivoted at 57 to a respective sidebar 27 of seat frame 12.

By means of these links 55, the inner frame 48 is easily automatically turned or tilted or pivoted around pivots 51, when the chair is folded or collapsed, as shown in Fig. 6, so that the chair can be easily folded in the usual manner, and the back and seat cushions abut each other without compression in the collapsed chair, or then abut with easy or slight compression so that a person of little strength can fold the chair and cushions into the final folded assembly shown in Fig, 6.

This result would be impossible, if the pivoted inner back-frame 48 were omitted. While rigid links 55 are highly preferred, they may be replaced by flexible straps which will limit the tilt of inner back-frame 48 relative to outer back-frame 13.

A rigid, conventional front-leg U-frame 10 has side bars 20 and a lateral, ground-engaging bar 19.

Each side bar 20 of front-leg frame 10 is connected by a conventional pivot 25 to a respective leg 24-23 of the rear-leg frame 11, in the usual manner. 6

Each side bar 20 of front-legframe 10 is also connected in the usual manner by a pivot 28 to a side-bar 27 of seat 12. v

A conventional U-shaped leg-rest 15 has side-bars 34 and a front lateral bar 33.

Conventional hinge-plates 35 are fixed to the side-bars 27 of seat.12 and to the side-bars 34 of leg-rest 15. These conventional hinge-plates. 35 have portions which depend below said side-bars 27 and 34, in their position of Fig. 1.

The usual rigid pintle-bar 36 has a U-shape, whose side-bars are angularly bent to provide horizontal and lateral hinge-pintles 37, which extend in the usual manner through laterally alined perforations in said depending portions of hinge-plates 35.

When the chair is in the extended position of Fig l, the .bars 27 and 34 are arranged in longitudinally alined pairs, and the adjacent ends of'said bars 27 and 34 are close to each other.

A conventional front frame has side-bars 40 and a lateral ground-engaging bar 39. Each sidebar 40 has the usual bent extension 42. Each bentextension 42 is connected by the usual pivot 41 to the side-bar 34 of the U-frame 15.

When the chair is extended, saidbent extensions 42 abut the lateral bar 33of frame 15 in the, usual manner.

The. bars 40 are located laterally inwardly of bars 34 and 27, and the bars 27 and 34 are located outwardly of bars 40.

All these U-frames are hollow and can be made by bending hollow tubular bars. The bars 27 are straight, hollow and tubular.

Two conventional arm-rests 14 are provided. Each arm-rest 14 consists of a pair of straight tubular and assmeo 3 parallel bars 14a and 14b, which are located in lateral succession.

A rigid U-plate 60 has a bight which extends around a respective bar .46 of outer back-frame 13 and said plate 60 has two parallel. and longitudinal pivot ears. Each plate 60, is fixed to the respective bar 46. The cars of said plates 60 extend along the respective lateral inner bar 14a. A pivot pin 61 extends. through the respective bars 144 and 14b of each arm-rest 14 and through the pivot ears of the respective plate 69, so that each armrest 14 is turnable relative to the respective bar 46 of the outer back-frame 13.

A conventional plate 62 is located between and is fixed rigidly to the bars 14a and 14b of each arm-rest 14.

Each plate 62 has the usual longitudinal slot 63, which has the usuallatching extensions 64.

The shank of each pivot pin 25 is located either in slot 63.011 in one of the latching slot-extensions 64. The inclination of outer back-frame 13 to seat-frame 12 can be regulated in the usual by causingthe shank of the respective. pivot pin 25 to register with a selected latching slot-extension 64. This adjustment of the outer backe frame 13 is not hindered by the supplement back-frame 48.

The frames 48, 27, 15 are provided with respective supports 52, 32, 43 for respective cushions. Each said support 52, 32, 43 is a flexible and resilient metal bar, whose ends are connected to the respective side-bars of the respective frame by coil springs. As later noted, the

back cushion is tied or otherwise connected to the inner back-frame 48.

When the frame of the chair is in its extended position of Fig. l, the. pivots 51, 56, 61, 57, 25, 28, 37, 41 are arranged in respective pairs. Each said pair has the same horizontal, lateral axis.

The links 67 are then rearwardly inclined and hold the rear-leg frame 11 rearwardly inclined in a fixed position, in the usual manner.

If the pivots 25 are at the front closed ends of the longitudinal slots 63, the outer back-frame 13 has its maximum rearward inclination, and the inner back-frame 48 is in substantially the same plane as the outer back-frame 13.

That is, in this embodiment, but without limitation thereto, when the outer back-frame 13 has its maximum rearward tilt, the inner back-frame 48 is substantially in the same plane as said outer back-frame 13. In this embodiment, but without limitation thereto, when the outer backframe 13 has less thanits maximum rearward tilt, the inner back-frame 48 is closer to the vertical position than the outer back-frame 13. In general, the outer back-frame 13 and the inner back-frame 48 may optionally be inclined to each other at different angles, when the outer back-frame 13 is at one or more different angles to the seat frame; and when the outer back-frame 13 and the inner back-frame 48 are inclined to each other, the inner back-frame 48v may have a smaller or greater inclination to the vertical plane than the outer back-frame 13.

As above noted, the inner back-frame 48 is provided with a cushion-support which consists of lateral, flexible and resilient flat strips 52, whose ends are optionally connected by coil springs to the side-bars 50 of said inner back frame 48.

Any means for supporting the cushions and connecting them to the frames may be used.

The chair is provided with a back cushion 72, a seatcushion fill and a leg-cushion 71.

Each cushion can be detachably secured to. the respective frames 48, 12, 15 by conventional means (not shown) such as straps which engage the respective side bars. It is expressly noted that. the back-cushion 72 is attached to the side-bars. 48, of, inner back-frame 48 and that the back-cushion 72 can pass between the side-bars 46 of the outerback frame 13.

As above noted, and. as shown in Fig. 6, when the frame is fully folded or collapsed, there is a substantial angular space between the outer back-frame 13 and the inner back-frame 48, which is ample to store the back cushion 72, and the seat-cushion 70, without optionally compressing said cushions.

In this embodiment, the three cushions 70, 71, 72 have the same width, but this may be varied and the cushions may have the same length or different lengths In the finally collapsed or folded chair which is shown in Fig. 6, the back-cushion '72 and the seat-cushion 70 are thus compactly stored between the back frames, and the leg-cushion 71 is at the outer face of frame 15.

As above noted, the frames 15 and 40 may be omitted. in such case, cushion 71 is also omitted. As one illustration, the thickness of back-cushion 72 may be four inches and the thickness of seat-cushion 70 may be four inches, and these cushions 72 and 7t} abut each other with little or no compression in the final folded position of Fig. 6. The drawings are substantially to scale, and reference is made thereto for detailed disclosure.

In general, I provide a collapsible chair which has an outer back-frame and an inner back-frame. The inner back-frame is connected pivotally to the outer back-frame, along a lateral pivot axis which is adjacent the upper end of the inner back-frame. A back-cushion is fixed to said inner back-frame. The width of said back-cushion and the width of the seat-cushion is less than the internal width of said outer back-frame. The outer back-frame is pivoted to a seat which has front legs and rear legs turnably connected thereto. The inner back-frame is connected to the seat, either by rigid links or by flexible straps. If rigid links are used, the turning of the outer backframe and the seat towards each other, automatically tilts the inner back-frame relative to the outer back-frame, so that the back-cushion remains fixed to the inner backframe, and the seat-cushion enters the outer back-frame.

Although the present invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example, for purposes of clarity of understanding, it is understood that many changes and modifications and omissions may be made within the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims. I also include the sub-combinations disclosed herein, within the scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. A collapsible chair construction comprising a seat, an outer back frame having its lower region pivotally connected to the rearward region of said seat for relative swinging movement about a lateral lower rear axis, a front-leg frame pivotally connected intermediate its up per and lower ends to a forward region of said seat for relative swinging movement about a lateral lower front axis, laterally spaced armrests each pivotally connected at its front end to the upper end of said front-leg frame for relative swinging movement about a lateral upper front axis and pivotally connected at its rear end to an intermediate region of said outer back frame for relative swinging movement about a lateral upper rear axis, an inner back frame pivotally connected at its upper end to the upper end of said outer back frame for relative swinging movement about an additional lateral axis, links each pivotally connected at its opposite ends to the lower region of said inner back frame and a region of said seat spaced between said lower front and rear axes, and cushions on each of said seat and inner back frame, said links and outer and inner back frames each being of a fixed pivot to pivot length and the pivot to pivot length of said links being considerably less'than the pivot to .pivot length of said inner back frame to effect movement of the latter into substantial parallelism with said seat at a distance from said seat approximately equal to two cushion thicknesses when said outer back frame is swung forward relative to said seat.

2. A collapsible chair construction according to claim 1, wherein said links are located laterally inward of Qu et ackfiame I lateral upper front axis and extending therefrom rear- 5 wardly and downwardly, and stop means on said outer back frame in abutting engagement with an intermediate region of said rear-leg frame.

4. A collapsible chair construction according to claim References Cited in the file of this patent 1, said links being of a pivot to pivot length approxi- 2761492 mately equal to two cushion thicknesses.

UNITED STATES PATENTS OHara Apr. 30, OLeary Oct. 18, Parker Feb. .4, Whiting et a1. Dec. 3, Beeskow Nov. 9, Rowe Mar. 20, Rechler Sept. 4, 

